 WHAT? WHERE?

Shrewsbury High School is a well-regarded non-selective day school for girls 4-18 years, teaching pupils since 1885 and situated close to the river in the picturesque town centre. Until September 2021 the Junior and Senior schools were on separate sites, but now the Junior School pupils have moved into two renovated Georgian town house buildings that were previously part of the Senior School. This review focuses on the Junior School.

Numbers at the Junior School are small at 70, partly due to the phasing out of a recent co-ed period and due to the 2021 closing of the Nursery. You’ll find class sizes around 12, with the maximum class size offered at 20 (and the Year 6 cohort nearly full). Numbers are currently smaller in other year groups as the school looks now to actively recruit new pupils to its new USP of all through-education for girls, as part of the Girls’ Day School Trust.

The exterior of the adjoining buildings is attractive (seriously, what’s not to like about Georgian architecture?), with a quirky addition to the left – Town Walls Tower, originally commissioned by King Henry III and now owned by the National Trust. Once inside the school, it’s a light, bright, well-designed space with all the mod cons you’d expect (integrated tech, ‘wobble’ chairs to help those with wavering concentration, modular furniture etc), but within the perimeters of its listed status, so there’s a lot of going up and down stairs and some eaves classrooms. The Junior girls have access to the full facilities on the Town Walls’ 6.5 acres site, including their own gardens, walled orchard, forest school, sports field, plus the off-site Crescent Lane courts and sports fields.

FACILITIES

SPORTS

It’s a ‘Sport for All’ philosophy here, with hockey, netball, cricket, gymnastics and football the main sports with the likes of swimming, tennis, and cross country (twice weekly training at 8am!) also part of the curriculum. In such a small school the year groups mix to create viable teams but before you shrug and think there’s no competitive spirit, the head teacher was quick to point out that they too like to win!

Fixtures are chosen against comparable schools from Year 3 including the state sector and the upside of fewer children is, of course, greater involvement for all. Sports facilities for the Junior school include Sports Hall, netball and tennis courts, astro and fields.

CREATIVE ARTS

There’s a light, well equipped art room here within the main house and a three-storey dedicated art house with two further art studios. From Year 3 onwards pupils are taught by specialist Art and DT teachers and can make full use of pottery wheels, a kiln, sewing machines and a printing press, amongst many other things.

There is a school theatre and music rooms– the Old Hall is particularly attractive and used primarily for musical performances, and it’s worth noting that the whole Music block has recently been renovated.

Back over at the Junior School I saw the Director of Music in action on the day I visited (he oversees both Senior and Junior departments), full of enthusiasm with the kids learning African drumming. Choral music is the strongest suit at the Junior School with a lower school choir (R-Y2), Junior Choir and Chamber Choir, with the school running an annual Year 3 Choral Day for pupils across the county. Recently year 5-6 performed Handel’s Messiah along with the Senior School girls at Shrewsbury Cathedral. Junior and senior pupils perform alongside each other at events throughout the year.

Other music ensembles include junior orchestra, chamber choir, rock band and a ukulele band. A lovely touch is the free music lessons offered to all children wishing to try an instrument – all kids will learn violin, trumpet and pea-recorder during their time at the Junior school. Talented musicians who outgrow the Junior ensembles also get the chance to play in the Senior orchestra – a clear positive of the two schools now merging on one site.

In terms of drama, the Junior School puts on 2 productions a year, with LAMDA exams offered to those from Y3 upwards – 75% of Junior school pupils in Y3-6 currently take part in the exams. From Sept 22 the Senior School Head of Drama will also be teaching the Junior pupils how to tread the boards.

SCHOOL

You’re probably gathering by now that many of the facilities are shared with the Senior School and this extends to the library for Y4-6, ICT rooms, DT room, science labs and also the dining area and assembly halls. However, in addition to the brand new class rooms, onsite at the Junior School is a refurbed physics/DT space, and a further creative space for teaching science and food technology.

The gardens to the rear of the Junior school are pretty and surrounded by mature plants and trees. In addition to its orchard, there is an outdoor classroom and a forest school and woodland reading area for the younger pupils. There’s a further school building, Hector’s House, that’s secured to expand the Junior school with more classrooms and potentially a dance space – nothing through planning yet but a useful extension to have when the time comes.

LITTLIES

Perhaps the loveliest space is given over Early Years and Reception – a bright, pretty free flow area that opens out onto the garden, and run by the dynamic Head of EL&R Ryan King. Subject specialists teach French, PE and Music from Early Years upwards, and there’s an established Forest School here that continues until year 3 when woodland adventures take over.

There’s a nascent Ready Steady Girl programme for 3-4 year olds – an opportunity for prospective children to come to the Early Years area once each month and try out the likes of coding, drama, Magical Maths, Messy Mud Kitchen and construction. This kicked in more seriously in Sept 22 and was extended to those continuing through the Juniors in what the school hopes will become its own mini Duke of Edinburgh awards.

ACADEMICS

There are no SATS here, and it’s automatic entry into the Senior School so the usual Y5-6 panic doesn’t apply – ideal for parents and their children who don’t want to get stressed out about ‘next steps’. With a 100% retention of girls moving through to the Senior school this year it’s clearly valued! A benefit to the pupils of staying on at the school is that it allows the school to create its own curriculum that doesn’t have to prioritise exam-spoon-feeding, making the learning more creative and child-led. However, to give you some bearings for the school’s academic rigour, pupils in Year 5 and 6 have been national finalists in Maths in Motion for the past 5 years.

Year 5 is the point at which there is a gear shift in the children’s educational programme and specialist teaching is delivered for Maths, English, Spanish and Science. From Year 6 children begin weekly Latin lessons.

PASTORAL CARE

In a school of 70 pupils, you’d expect some the pastoral chops to be outstanding, and the Junior School clearly takes it seriously – its pastoral programme, “Climb”, tracks and supports the children through their school life with both a counsellor and nurse onsite and Mindfulness and Wellbeing Clubs offered at Junior level. One of the junior teachers is fully yoga-trained and takes classes with the children as part of Period ‘X’ – the school’s award nominated life skills programme and the last hour on every Wednesday before lunch. The entire school comes off timetable and tries something different, from physical and mental wellbeing to personal development and creativity – so you’ll see the girls engaged in sessions from cloud-spotting to bike maintenance and everything in between.

At the end of the school day, all the children go back to their form room for a catch up with their class, talk to their form teacher about anything exciting that has happened or any problems they’ve encountered, take time to reflect on the day and then leave school as a group. There’s also peer-group support between Senior and Juniors on Tuesday mornings where KS2 and Year 10s do Buddy reading and KS1 and Year 11s take part in yoga and storytelling. Six & Sixth is another through-school initiative that happens once each half term between Year 6 and the Sixth Form to create what Shrewsbury High School calls a ‘big sister, little sister’ relationship that eases the move from Junior to Senior school the following year.

THE HEAD

Kate Millichamp has been head since 2015, and has been on an exhilarating ride that’s seen the school return to single sex Junior, drop its nursery and move site. Friendly and approachable, she’s now enjoying the calm after the storm! Her focus now is on building up numbers, developing the Junior site further and creating strong dynamics between the Junior and Senior schools.

QUIRKS

28 Town Walls used to be the home of scientist Thomas Porter Blunt who discovered free radicals and whose daughters came to Shrewsbury High – STEAM inspo right there! On the windows of some of the junior classrooms you can still read the WB Yeats poem “The Cloths of Heaven” that was etched on the windows decades ago when the buildings were used by Sixth Form students – and something that SHS alumnae from the 80s and 90s remember fondly.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Parents, you’ll love this. Wrap around care here is free, with children able to arrive from 8am and stay until 6pm, with an after-school snack to keep them going. All after school clubs are also offered free of charge.

SEND PROVISION

Shrewsbury High School is proudly non-selective, and there’s learning enhancement support across the Junior School in the form of 4 teaching assistants and screening for SEND for early intervention and support. However, the higgledy-piggledy nature of the building will preclude those with some physical disabilities from being able to attend.

ISI REPORT

The most recent inspection of the whole school took place in Jan 2019. View it here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Junior pupils aren’t allowed their mobile phones during the school day.

TRANSPORT

The school provides eight bus routes bringing pupils to the school from across the whole region.

FEES

Very reasonable compared to competitors. Termly fees are £3420 (Reception); £3500 (Y1-2); £3,763.00 per term (Year 3); £4,219.00 per term (Years 4 to 6). Pupils in R, Y1 and Y2 are not charged for lunches, those in other years pay £255 per term.

WORD ON THE GROUND

It’s been a period of flux for the Junior School but there’s been much support for reverting back to an all-girls provision and the physical move to be truly part of the Senior school. The family-oriented, child-focused care isn’t in doubt and parents who opt for this school do so in the clear knowledge that it’s small and intimate. The pupils are already liking the proximity to the Senior school, and particularly feeling the love for the swanky shared canteen.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Those wanting a seamless flow from Junior to Senior school without the stress of exams and ‘next school’ issues. As a small school, care and attention is lavished on the children and the brand new building means all modern tech and teaching innovations are front of mind.

Not for: Though the school recognises that competition matters, its size makes meaningful silverware hard to win if that’s your marker of success.

Dare to disagree?! Be my guest! There’s a Junior School Open Day on 9 March 2023, or you can arrange a private tour of the Junior School here.

Shrewsbury High Junior School, 27/28 Town Walls Shrewsbury Shropshire SY1 1TN, admissions@shr.gdst.net, 01743 494038

Shrewsbury High School (Junior)

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